Last week, I attended a real live concert!  This was a red letter day in our household because we hadn’t been out to any cultural activity since Feb 2020 for obvious reasons.  And it’s fair to say that we had a huge sense of excitement, tinged with a certain amount of nervousness.  Even though some of us have now been vaccinated, it feels so unaccustomed to leave the cocoon of our home, and venture out into a public auditorium.

This auspicious occasion was hosted by The Mill Arts Centre in Banbury, who are now starting to open up for workshops, concerts and other cultural events.  The show which tempted me out from remaining holed up at home was the first live performance given post-lockdown by Down For The Count – a fabulous jazz band consisting of 12 musicians whose musical expertise and sheer vivacity of performance are outstanding.  I have listened to their live-streams on Facebook during the past few months of lockdown, and their New Year’s Eve performance last year was one of the few attractions capable of keeping me awake until midnight to see in the New Year.  If anything was going to persuade me to attend a live gig, it was this band!

We weren’t disappointed.  I think it was just as much a pleasure for the performers to be able to see the faces of a small, socially-distanced, masked audience in front of them as it was for us to hear the riffs and rhythms of live-performing musicians.  They played old favourites and new adaptations of classic jazz music with outstanding vocalists.  They had jocular banter and a great rapport with the audience.  Everybody was there to enjoy themselves after so many months of restrictions, and I realised just what a huge loss the performing arts have suffered during the pandemic wasteland.  It’s not too late to restore our cultural heritage, but we need to be willing to support it by attending the performances which are offered to us.

My role as Chaplain for the Arts has been very different during the past 16 months.  In March 2020, one year into the job, I had established a variety of arts activities and outreach with our local community and artistic organisations, mostly but not all in St Mary’s Church.  All of these planned events came to an abrupt halt in early March last year, and I started to consider how we could expand our digital presence, and use remote platforms for continuing with our cultural engagement.  Many months later, we have offered countless online services, Zoom discussion groups, visiting speakers from abroad, a virtual community Christmas carol service, online contemplative relaxation sessions, regular blogs etc.  We regularly live-stream our services from St Mary’s.  All this makes our events more accessible to those who otherwise might not be able to attend in person, which is an excellent innovation. 

As we look to the future, we are starting to develop exciting plans for a cultural revival including an Arts Festival at St Mary’s in 2022.  We want to meet together again, to enjoy the shared experience of watching a live performance, and to rebuild our social interactions with other people.  It may take some encouragement to venture into public spaces again, but let’s be ready to offer maximum support to all the events which get up and running.  After all, it’s only when you lose the opportunity that you really appreciate just how much you valued it! 

Sarah Bourne, Chaplain for the Arts – 9^th June 2021            sarahbourne@banburystmary.org.uk